A New Temple Built, a Dream Shattered
After Su Yao finished speaking, Li Siyi finally came to her senses and murmured:
"How could this be...?"
The last thing was truly unbelievable to her.
Eight thousand years ago, Qixia Temple moved south, and the five families followed. Although only eight thousand years have passed, eight thousand years is still a short time for Lineage that have been passed down for tens of thousands of years. After all, the lifespan of the Purple Mansion is 1,500 years, and eight thousand years is just the lifetime of five Purple Mansion True Person with orderly lineages.
If Mysterious Gate Xuanmen sect moves south, will Qixia Temple also move south? Wouldn't that mean the five families would have to move south again?
Su Yao shook his head and comforted him:
"There's no need to worry too much. Everything is uncertain. If Nanzhao is wise, it will submit a petition to change its name as soon as possible."
He paused:
"After all, his family is of Orthodox God of Soil and Grain blood, and anyone who wants to harm them has to see if the Feng Household is willing to do so."
Hearing this, Li Siyi felt slightly relieved, but still braced herself and asked:
"The Feng Household... descendants of the Heavenly Sovereign?"
Su Yao nodded, but didn't want to say anything more, so he waved his hand:
"You may go down now. I will go down again at the auspicious time."
Li Siyi nodded and turned to leave, but Su Yao called her back:
"If the princess of Nanzhao wishes to find me, she should say that I am receiving distinguished guests from Jade Void on the back mountain and it is inconvenient for me to come down the mountain for the time being."
Li Siyi nodded upon hearing this, and her body transformed into a stream of light and disappeared.
After seeing the others leave, Su Yao returned to his cave abode.
Inside the cave abode, besides the Soul-Dropping Bell and the Flame Domain Flowing Fire Umbrella, only the wooden box emitted a faint white light.
This morning, a poem came to mind:
"The bronze drums sounded deep, the jade dragons wailed mournfully, and the royal aura vanished."
The lands and rivers of the Six Zhao kingdoms, the state for ten thousand years, have all turned into the soil of a detached palace.
As the Golden Ao rise and the Pear Garden is newly built, the old flutes and drums have been replaced.
The west wind sadly blows, leaving the palace willows bare, and only the green lake remains, as if telling a lament.
In the southern half of the land, heroes are without a leader; who will ask when the bronze camel was cast?
The waves of Erhai Lake are cold, the snow on Cang Mountain is old, and I only remember the words of the divine lord.
The dream of Huaxu is shattered, Kunming is gray and cold, only the seagulls dance alone.
"Don't even ask whether the Dragon Pass and Tiger's lair are still there."
The wooden box was never displayed without permission.
Previously, what emerged was the imperial edict for Proclaiming Earth's southward journey and the date for opening the mountain gate; but today, this poem focuses on the fate of the Nanzhao Kingdom in every line.
"The lands and rivers of the Six Zhao kingdoms, the state for ten thousand years, have all been turned into the soil of a detached palace."
This is no longer a hint, it's a direct declaration.
After reading the poem this morning, Su Yao realized that his previous assumptions were too shallow. He originally thought that Proclaiming Earth's southward journey would first and foremost target the numerous witch kingdoms and Witch Department west of Nanzhao.
When the imperial court decided to abolish the native chieftain system and reinstate officials, it naturally targeted the remnants of the Witchcraft Dao first.
But this poem awakened him: Nanzhao was also in the game, and not just a piece on the edge, but a piece in the very center that was about to be captured.
"The dream of Huaxu is shattered, Kunming is gray and cold, only the seagulls dance alone."
The seagulls, oblivious and unaware, continue to soar above Erhai Lake; but has the Nanzhao Royal Family awakened from their dream of Huaxu?
That led to his private conversation with Li Siyi earlier. He wasn't trying to be alarmist.
The overall situation had quietly shifted under the shadow of Proclaiming Earth. For the meritorious officials of the Qingshi who sought to achieve great deeds, Nanzhao was the most lucrative field for military merit; for the Confucian School and other schools of thought who wanted to promote culture, the reform of local chieftains and the replacement of local officials with centrally appointed officials was the first step; and for the Buddhist School who wanted to move south from the Western Regions, Nanzhao was the necessary corridor.
As for the Mysterious Gate Daoist sect), the three main factions are outwardly united but inwardly divided, while the imperial court, Confucian School scholars, Buddhist School, and Demonic Dao are also eyeing them covetously.
If there is no longer a foothold in the Central Plains Jiangnan, this southwestern mountainous region will be the last strategic point of retreat.
"Golden Ao rise amidst the rosy clouds, the Pear Garden is newly built, replacing the old flutes and drums."
Qixia Temple only managed to make this move first because his sudden descent from the mountain caught everyone off guard.
The Pear Garden opens today, with gongs and drums resounding and auspicious clouds filling the mountains; but beneath this festivities lies the impending collapse of the Nanzhao, a state that has stood for tens of thousands of years, and the last echoes of the many nearby witch kingdoms.
It is located 20 li south of Golden Ao Mountain.
At that moment, a man and a woman were looking in the direction of Golden Ao Mountain with smiles on their faces.
The woman in purple looked at the man in gold beside her:
"I heard that Brother Su Yao of Qixia Temple is opening the mountain today. It's a pity that we received a decree from the immortals that we cannot go up the mountain before the Princess of Nanzhao descends. Otherwise, we could have given Brother Su Yao a good thrashing."
The man in gold shook his head:
"If we don't slaughter them today, we can slaughter them again tomorrow."
As soon as they finished speaking, they both burst into laughter.
After a moment, the woman in purple whispered again:
"Nowadays, our Daoist lineage is producing outstanding talents. Golden Court Ting has you, Sanlang, Qixia Temple has Brother Su Yao. Both of you have attained the Fruition Position level through spiritual resonance. Apart from Mount Lao, all the other Daoist lineages in Jade Void are now producing prodigies."
The man in golden robes, known as Sanlang, advised:
"Fellow Zilin, why be so insistent? Your talent is not lacking either; you are a descendant of True Lord."
He paused:
"I am now worried about the affairs of this Proclaiming Earth. Will relying on the two of us, Brother Su Yao, Comet Light, Jade Spring, and the successors of the Jieshi lineage be enough...?"
Zilin sighed upon hearing this:
"My Jade Pure One lineage, in its heyday, consisted of twelve Immortal Leaders plus two Golden Immortal, Beiwu and Yunzhong, who passed down a total of nine lineages. The Jade Casket Dao Lineage declined long ago due to the loss of its True Qi, and all its successors retreated to Kunlun. It's understandable that the Qianyuan Dao Lineage hasn't taken on any successors for a long time. But Azure Jade..."
Upon hearing this, Sanlang did not continue the conversation on that topic, but simply shook his head:
"I still hope that the princess will descend Golden Ao Mountain soon, so that you can go up the mountain and discuss the Proclaiming Earth matter with Brother Su Yao."
Zilin nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more.
On Golden Ao Mountain, in the Embracing Rosy Clouds Hall.
"Today, Su Yao, Zhongnan Dao Lineage Qixia Temple and a follower of the Three Pure Ones Qixia Temple lineage of Mysterious Gate, has established the Pear Garden Branch Temple on Jin'ao Mountain on the Cibi Lake Golden Ao Mountain Nanzhao, in accordance with the decree of the Jade Void. This villa inherits the lineage of the Three Pure Ones and initiates the Xuan culture of the Southern Frontier. On this day, the day is auspicious and the month is blessed by Heaven."
We humbly beseech the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Void Master, the successive patriarchs of Zhongnan, and the emperors of the Heavenly Court to bear witness. We humbly acknowledge that the old site of Golden Ao was originally the sacred ruins of Nanzhao; the newly established Pear Garden is truly a separate domain of the Mysterious Gate school).
The Pear Garden Branch Temple is now complete, and construction is commencing. With this meritorious act of opening the mountain, we repay the grace of the Three Pure Ones and pray for the peace and order of the Five Virtues. We humbly beseech the Ancestral Master's protection and the Heavenly Court's favor, so that this villa may forever be bathed in radiant light, its gates peaceful and serene, and its Daoist practice flourish. This is the official announcement of the commencement of construction.
After speaking, Su Yao inserted three sticks of incense into the incense burner, stepped back, and led the five people behind him to perform the three kneelings and nine kowtows ceremony before the ancestral tablet.
After finishing his ceremony, he rose and turned around, bowing respectfully to the guests in the hall with a slight smile on his face.
"Today marks the opening of the Pear Garden, and I am deeply grateful to all of you who have traveled from afar. In this humble mountain setting, I have prepared a simple vegetarian meal, and I hope you will not find it offensive."
These were polite words, but they were just polite words. Everyone knew perfectly well what was going on.
This Qixia Daozi only showed himself once and said this one sentence from beginning to end. After the opening ceremony was over, he showed no intention of speaking to anyone else alone.
Princess Ziheng of Nanzhao sat upright at the table, her fingertips gently stroking the rim of her teacup. She had come on her father's orders to investigate the true intentions of the Xuanmen Mysterious Gate in Nanzhao.
However, this Daoist priest only came down from the back mountain at an auspicious time, and after the ceremony, he only made a polite remark and avoided talking about it, clearly not wanting to meet her alone.
She maintained her elegant smile, but inwardly she sighed softly. She feared she wouldn't be able to fulfill her father's dying wish today.